Although the inventory of pre-owned business aircraft is slowly being reduced, it’s still a buyer’s market, according to aviation market intelligence provider JetNet (Booth No. 1543).

In the first quarter of this year, the total number of business jets for sale was under 2,800, representing 15.6 percent of the market. That figure reached a high of 17.7 percent in July 2009. The percentage of available pre-owned turboprops– a total of 1,400 aircraft–was 11.1 percent this year, compared to a high of 12 percent last year.

Sales transactions have slowed, however, totaling 555 business jet sales in the first quarter, compared to 595 in the same quarter last year. The decline in transactions marked a record low (in recent years), beating the 2003 total of 577. Analysts expect that figure to improve during the second quarter and possibly exceed the 2009 second quarter figure of 657 transactions.

Sales transactions for turboprops also plummeted, to a new recent-year low of 329 in the first quarter of the year, compared to 370 in the same period last year.
Although the sales transactions among pre-owned helicopters have also declined, the rotor industry appears to have fared better than the airplane industry. In the first quarter of the year, fewer than 1,200 turbine helicopters were available, representing only 6.9 percent of the total market. For piston helicopters, 6.7 percent were on the market, fewer than 600 units.

In other news, JetNet will be showcasing this week a variety of new enhancements to its Evolution software, including a partnership with ARGUS International to offer direct links to ARGUS data from the Evolution service pages, as well as SMS text messaging for subscribers to receive instant PDA or smartphone notices of market updates directly from JetNet’s database.